Bathtub having improved safety for infirm or handicapped

ABSTRACT

A bathtub affording improved safety, especially for the elderly or handicapped, including an opened top tub, the bottom of which has a seat-height horizontal portion extending from one end of the tub and a lower feet-receiving horizontal portion, one wall of the tub having a door opening extending from the top of the tub to the lower feet receiving portion of the tub bottom and the upper portion of the opening being of a width sufficient to expose part of the bottom seat-height horizontal portion, and a door pivotally supported to the tub so that, when the door is in opened position, a user may walk onto the bottom lower feet receiving portion or sit on the exposed part of the bottom seatheight horizontal portion, the door when closed permitting the tub to be filled with water to the height desired.

United States Patent 1 Russell 1March 1.3, 1973 154] BATHTUB HAVINGIMPROVED SAFETY FOR INFIRM OR HANDICAPPED [76] Inventor: Lionel E.Russell, Route 1, Oologah,

Okla.

22 Filed: Sept. 29, 1970 21 Appl.No.: 76,504

[52] U.S. Cl ..4/173 1,844,988 2/1932 Steinkamp.. .....4/l73 D49,6579/1916 Papp ..4/l73 3,066,316 12/1962 Russell 1 ..4/l73 3,371,354 3/1968l-layslett ..4/173 5 ,423,769 l/l969 Cowley ..4/l 73 FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATlONS Italy ..4 173 Primary Examinerl-louston S. Bell, Jr.Assistant ExaminerDonald B. Massenberg Attorney-Head & Johnson [57]ABSTRACT A bathtub affording improved safety, especially for the elderlyor handicapped, including an opened top tub, the bottom of which has aseat-height horizontal portion extending from one end of the tub and alower feet-receiving horizontal portion, one wall of the tub having adoor opening extending from the top of the tub to the lower feetreceiving portion of the tub bottom and the upper portion of the openingbeing of a width sufficient to expose part of the bottom seatheighthorizontal portion, and a door pivotally supported to the tub so that,when the door is in opened position, a user may walk onto the bottomlower feet receiving portion or sit on the exposed part of the bottomseat-height horizontal portion, the door when closed permitting the tubto be filled with water to the height desired.

2 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures BATIITUB HAVING IMPROVED SAFETY FOR INFIRMOR HANDICAPPED BACKGROUND, SUMMARY, AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION One ofthe most difficult aspects of caring for an elderly, infirm, orhandicapped person is that of bathing. The typical bathtub in use. todaysits on the floor with vertical upstanding sidewalls. The user must stepover a wall of the tub and then sit down into the tub. While theprocedure is completely safe for a normal person it is extremelydifficult for the. physically limited or infirm. In addition, the chanceof slippage on the tub bottom while getting into and out of the tub isalways a danger.

To reduce the danger inherent with the typical bathtub the provision ofa door in a raised bathtub has been suggested. U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,316,L. E. Russell, inventor, issued December 4, 1962, and the referencescited, illustrates this improved type of tub. The arrangement of thebathtub of this previously issued patent affords greatly improved safetyover the commonly used bathtub for handicapped and infirmed. The presentdisclosure relates to an improvement in the bathtub of the type shown inU.S. Pat. No. 3,066,316. Particularly, the present invention provides abathtub having a door in one sidewall thereof which permits the user toeither walk directly into the tub without having to step over a sidewallor, if desirable, to sit directly into the tub. The door of the tub maythen be closed and the tub filled with water to the height desired.

It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a bathtubhaving improved safety for elderly, infirm, or handicapped.

.More particularly, an object of this invention is to provide a bathtubhaving a door therein permitting the user to step directly into the tubwithout having to step over a sidewall.

Another object of this invention is to provide a bathtub having a doorin one sidewall thereof permitting the user to either step directly intothe tub without having to step over a-sidewall or to sit directly intothe tub at chair-height level.

These objects as well as more specific objects of the invention will befulfilled by the bathtub described in the following specification andclaims, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF VIEWS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a bathtub embodyingthe principles of this invention, the tub having a door in one wallthereof, the door being shown in closed position.

FIG 2 is an isometric view as in FIG. 1 but showing the door in openedposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a bathtub embodying theprinciples of this invention is illustrated, it being understood thatthe actual appearance of a tub having the invention as a portion thereofmay depart in many ways from the example illustrated. The tub isgenerally indicated by the numeral 10 and includes a back sidewall 12, afront sidewall 14, a first end wall 16, and a second end wall 18..Theheight of the walls 12-18 are greater than those of the normal bathtuband may be, as an example, approximately twice the height of the normalbathtub.

The tub bottom includes a first seat-height horizontal portion 22Aextending from first end wall 16, a lower 2 feetreceiving horizontalportion 228 and a second horizontal seat-height portion 22C extendingfrom second end wall 18. The horizontal seat-height portion 22C isconnected with the horizontal feet-receiving portion 228 by a bottomvertical portion 22D. In the same manner the first horizontalseat-height portion 22A is joined to the horizontal feet-receivingportion 223 by a vertical wall 22E hidden from view in the drawings. Thebottom portions 22D and 22E are described as being vertical and thisexpression is used in a general sense as such portions may be slightlydeclined from the vertical portion 22D shown in the drawings.

A door opening 20 formed in front sidewall 14 includes a lower portion20A which extends to the bottom feet-receiving portion 22B. This enablesthe user of the tub to step directly onto bottom portion 228 withoutstepping over a sidewall. The upper portion 20B of door opening 20 is ofa width sufficient to expose a part of the bottom seat-height horizontalportion 22A. This enables a user to sit directly onto a horizontalportion 22A at chair-height level.

A door 24 is configured to fully close opening 20. The door is pivotallysupported to the front sidewall 14 by means of hinges 26 and is held inclosed water-tight or water sealing position by means of a latch 28. Theparticular type or configuration of the hinges 26 and latch 28 is not aportion of this invention as these may take a variety of types andarrangements. In addition, the specific means of sealing door 24" to thedoor opening 20 is not a part of the invention since manyarrangementsexist for effecting a leakproof seal.

At second end wall 18 plumbing fixtures are shown, indicated by thenumeral 30. Such is not necessarily a part of the invention. In someplumbing arrangements the fixtures are not part of the bathtub but arelocated above the tub for discharging water downwardly and into the tuband either arrangement would be within the scope of this disclosure.

The invention provides an arrangement for a bathtub having advantagesover other known types of tubs. With door 24 opened the user can stepdirectly into the tub without stepping over a wall as is required inusing the normal bathtub. If more convenient the user may sit directlyonto seat horizontal bottom portion 22A. This is particularly importantfor infirm or handicapped people who must move from a wheelchair to thetub. By this arrangement the elevation of the person does not have tochange in going from a wheelchair to the tub.

With the user inside the tub the door 24 can then be closed. The usermay keep his feet extending downwardly into the lower feet-receivingportion provided by the lower bottom 228 or, if desired, may extend hisfeet directly across to be supported on the seatheight portion 22C. Inthe drawings the separation between the horizontal portion 22A and 22Cis shown to be relatively large, however, this is a matter of design andif desired the width of the feet-receivingbottom portion 228 may be onlythat minimum required to enable a person to place his feet comfortablytherein. If

bottom portions 22D and 22E are more vertical than illustrated the widthbetween the horizontal portion 22A and 22C would be much less than theywould appear in the figures. The existence of the downwardly extendingrecess provided by the lower feet-receiving horizontal bottom portion228 will not interfere with the normal use of the tub since a personsitting in a bathtub usually has his knees raised slightly. Anotheradvantage of the tub of this invention is thatit provides a convenientmeans for affording a foot bath for those who may not wish to bathecompletely and is therefore highly useful to those people having footproblems requiring often foot bathing.

While the invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity it is manifest that many changes may be made in thedetails of construction and the arrangement of components withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. is understoodthat this invention is not limited to the specific embodimentsillustrated and described herein for purposes of exemplification, but isto be limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims,including the full range of equivalency to which each element thereof isentitled.

What is claimed is:

1. A bathtub affording improved safety especially for the elderly,infirm or handicapped, comprising:

an opened top tub having a front anda back wall, a

first and a second end wall, and a bottom; the bottom having aseat-height horizontal portion extending from the first end wallintermediate the height thereof and a lower feet-receiving horizontalportion, the horizontal portions being joined by a bottom verticalportion; the front wall having a door opening therein of a wider upperdimension and a narrower lower dimension, the lower portion of the dooropening extending downwardly to the lower feet-receiving portion of thetub bottom and the wider upper por tion of the door opening extendingdownwardly to said bottom seat height horizontal portion, the widerupper portion being of a width sufficient to expose a substantialportion of said bottom seatheight horizontal portion sufficient toenable a user to sit on such exposed seat-height portion; and

a door of a wider upper dimension and a narrower lower dimensionpivotally supported to said tube front side wall and pivotal to an openposition wherein a user may walk on to said bottom feetreceivingportion, or sit directly on to said exposed part of said bottomseat-height horizontal portion, said door pivotal to a closedwater-tight or water sealing position permitting water to be drawn intothe tube to the desired height.

2. A bathtub affording improved safety according to claim 1, whereinsaid tub .bottom includes a second seat-height horizontal portionextending from the second end wall, said bottom lower feet-receivingportion being between said horizontal seat-height portions and thesecond mentioned seat-height portion being joined with saidfeet-receiving portion by a second bottom vertical portion.

1. A bathtub affording improved safety especially for the elderly,infirm or handicapped, comprising: an opened top tub having a front anda back wall, a first and a second end wall, and a bottom; the bottomhaving a seat-height horizontal portion extending from the first endwall intermediate the height thereof and a lower feet-receivinghorizontal portion, the horizontal portions being joined by a bottomvertical portion; the front wall having a door opening therein of awider upper dimension and a narrower lower dimension, the lower portionof the door opening extending downwardly to the lower feetreceivingportion of the tub bottom and the wider upper portion of the dooropening extending downwardly to said bottom seat height horizontalportion, the wider upper portion being of a width sufficient to expose asubstantial portion of said bottom seat-height horizontal portionsufficient to enable a user to sit on such exposed seat-height portion;and a door of a wider upper dimension and a narrower lower dimensionpivotally supported to said tube front side wall and pivotal to an openposition wherein a user may walk on to said bottom feet-receivingportion, or sit directly on to said exposed part of said bottomseat-height horizontal portion, said door pivotal to a closedwater-tight or water sealing position permitting water to be drawn intothe tube to the desired height.
 1. A bathtub affording improved safetyespecially for the elderly, infirm or handicapped, comprising: an openedtop tub having a front and a back wall, a first and a second end wall,and a bottom; the bottom having a seat-height horizontal portionextending from the first end wall intermediate the height thereof and alower feet-receiving horizontal portion, the horizontal portions beingjoined by a bottom vertical portion; the front wall having a dooropening therein of a wider upper dimension and a narrower lowerdimension, the lower portion of the door opening extending downwardly tothe lower feet-receiving portion of the tub bottom and the wider upperportion of the door opening extending downwardly to said bottom seatheight horizontal portion, the wider upper portion being of a widthsufficient to expose a substantial portion of said bottom seat-heighthorizontal portion sufficient to enable a user to sit on such exposedseat-height portion; and a door of a wider upper dimension and anarrower lower dimension pivotally supported to said tube front sidewall and pivotal to an open position wherein a user may walk on to saidbottom feet-receiving portion, or sit directly on to said exposed partof said bottom seat-height horizontal portion, said door pivotal to aclosed water-tight or water sealing position permitting water to bedrawn into the tube to the desired height.